Teens jailed for "senseless" torture of girl
They held 14-year-old captive in flat for 17 days, beat her, scalded her and forced her to perform indecent acts
By Karen Wong
THREE 17-year-olds who tortured a 14-year-old girl repeatedly over 17 days in a flat in Ang Mo Kio were sentenced yesterday to jail terms of between two and seven years.
The boys will also be caned.
Sentencing them, District Judge Seng Kwang Boon described the case as one of the worst he had come across.
The "violent and serious nature of the case" and its "gruesome facts" called for a jail term and caning, where necessary, he said.
He sentenced Neo Soo Kai, a cook, to seven years' jail and 14 strokes of the cane.
Melvin Yeo Yew Beng, who is unemployed, will spend six years behind bars and be caned 16 strokes.
The judge sentenced Neo's girlfriend, an Institute of Technical Education student, to two years' jail.
She cannot be named because two of her three sisters accused of being involved in the assault are juveniles. Naming her would identify them.
The sisters are 12, 15 and 18 years old. The case against another youth, Yeo Kim Han, 17, is also pending.
The victim, who was held in a two-room flat from Dec 15 to Jan 2, was in hospital for 34 days after her ordeal and is badly scarred.
Neo, his girlfriend and Yeo admitted their guilt last Saturday.
All of them had assaulted her, taking turns to kick, punch and slap her. They also forced their victim to strip naked and perform indecent acts.
Neo hit her on the back with a metal chair, causing her to fall on her face. One of her front teeth came loose and he yanked it out.
When they told her to take off her clothes and perform indecent acts, Neo threatened to beat her if she did not obey, and Yeo also threatened to hit her.
Afraid of being hit again, she stripped and did as they commanded while they all watched.
On another occasion, Neo tied her to a chair in the kitchen and scalded her with boiling water.
Yeo beat her with a wooden stick and an iron rod and also scalded her.
He is also guilty of robbing a 21-year-old youth of his wallet in March 1997, at Ang Mo Kio Central.
The girl could not escape as they kept the grille gates locked, with Yeo and Neo taking turns to guard the key.
When she telephoned home, she did not dare tell her family what she was going through for fear of further abuse.
On New Year's Eve, the three of them tied the girl to the sofa and taped up her mouth shut, so she could not escape while they were out celebrating.
The judge said to them: "You have tortured this young defenceless girl for 17 long days. You have inflicted extreme pain on her and humiliated her. You have disfigured her body and her face.
"Your assaults were senseless.''
He added: "Just because you are young, does not mean that you can go around committing serious offences and hope to get off lightly.''
The three showed little emotion as the judge passed sentence.
They held 14-year-old captive in flat for 17 days, beat her, scalded her and forced her to perform indecent acts
By Karen Wong
THREE 17-year-olds who tortured a 14-year-old girl repeatedly over 17 days in a flat in Ang Mo Kio were sentenced yesterday to jail terms of between two and seven years.
The boys will also be caned.
Sentencing them, District Judge Seng Kwang Boon described the case as one of the worst he had come across.
The "violent and serious nature of the case" and its "gruesome facts" called for a jail term and caning, where necessary, he said.
He sentenced Neo Soo Kai, a cook, to seven years' jail and 14 strokes of the cane.
Melvin Yeo Yew Beng, who is unemployed, will spend six years behind bars and be caned 16 strokes.
The judge sentenced Neo's girlfriend, an Institute of Technical Education student, to two years' jail.
She cannot be named because two of her three sisters accused of being involved in the assault are juveniles. Naming her would identify them.
The sisters are 12, 15 and 18 years old. The case against another youth, Yeo Kim Han, 17, is also pending.
The victim, who was held in a two-room flat from Dec 15 to Jan 2, was in hospital for 34 days after her ordeal and is badly scarred.
Neo, his girlfriend and Yeo admitted their guilt last Saturday.
All of them had assaulted her, taking turns to kick, punch and slap her. They also forced their victim to strip naked and perform indecent acts.
Neo hit her on the back with a metal chair, causing her to fall on her face. One of her front teeth came loose and he yanked it out.
When they told her to take off her clothes and perform indecent acts, Neo threatened to beat her if she did not obey, and Yeo also threatened to hit her.
Afraid of being hit again, she stripped and did as they commanded while they all watched.
On another occasion, Neo tied her to a chair in the kitchen and scalded her with boiling water.
Yeo beat her with a wooden stick and an iron rod and also scalded her.
He is also guilty of robbing a 21-year-old youth of his wallet in March 1997, at Ang Mo Kio Central.
The girl could not escape as they kept the grille gates locked, with Yeo and Neo taking turns to guard the key.
When she telephoned home, she did not dare tell her family what she was going through for fear of further abuse.
On New Year's Eve, the three of them tied the girl to the sofa and taped up her mouth shut, so she could not escape while they were out celebrating.
The judge said to them: "You have tortured this young defenceless girl for 17 long days. You have inflicted extreme pain on her and humiliated her. You have disfigured her body and her face.
"Your assaults were senseless.''
He added: "Just because you are young, does not mean that you can go around committing serious offences and hope to get off lightly.''
The three showed little emotion as the judge passed sentence.
